


Let’s Gamble With the Devil

by NeverlandHeart



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Always trust your guts kiddos, Carnival, F/F, M/M, Multi, Obligatory Halloween drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 23:00:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16458668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverlandHeart/pseuds/NeverlandHeart
Summary: “Wait, Alice, hold on,” Margo tries to keep up with her but when Alice turns a corner Margo curses under her breath. Right as she goes to follow her, she trips over someone’s leg and falls down on her hands and knees. She immediately stands up and moves her head in different directions to see who had just tripped her, but all she sees is her own reflection. “Alice?” She calls out to her girlfriend but tries again, louder this time when she doesn’t get a response. “Alice!”





	Let’s Gamble With the Devil

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve hopped on the Halloween fics bandwagon and I have no regrets. I’ve left this purposely ambiguous, so go crazy with your thoughts. It could be a different timeline, take place during any season, ETC, I’ll let you all decide. It’s more fun that way.

Quentin lets himself smile as soon as the smell of funnel cake fills his nostrils. There’s children and even adults running around. Wether they’re running after their kids or just running, he can’t tell, but it makes him chuckle anyway. He feels Eliot lean down to kiss his hair. “What’s so funny?” 

Quentin just beams up at him and shakes his head. “Nothing, just excited.” The line for tickets starts moving and they step forward, Quentin reaching down and squeezing his hand. “Hey, thanks for doing this, by the way, I know carnivals aren’t exactly your thing.” 

Eliot shrugs and fusses with his hair as they get closer to the booth. “I wouldn’t say they aren’t my thing, they aren’t just something I’m a huge fan of, but for you? I haven’t seen you smile this big in a while. If I didn’t know how attractive how I was I’d be insulted.” 

Quentin laughs at that and squeezes his hand once before letting go so the woman can give him his wrist band. “Carnivals are tradition! Me and Jules-“

Before he can finish, the girl he was just talking about comes running up behind him, jumping on his back, causing him to wrap his hands around her thighs while she wraps her arms around his neck. He almost stumbles at the impromptu piggy back ride but quickly catches himself and lets out a loud bark of laughter. “Julia!”

“Quentin!” She repeats back playfully. “Boat ride first, right?” She slips off his back and grabs the hand that isn’t holding Eliot’s, swinging them back and forth. 

Kady, Penny, Margo and Alice all join them a few seconds later. “I’m going to pass,” Alice states. “I get motion sick.” 

They all turn and gape at her. Julia, in particular, is especially confused. “Pretty much all of the carnival rides involve motion.” 

Alice simply shrugs and intertwines her fingers with Margo’s. “Not the hall of mirrors. And food.” 

Julia grins at that. “Okay, whatever you want.” She turns to her boyfriend and girlfriend. “What about you two?” 

Penny and Kady exchange glances before shrugging. “Roller coasters, maybe?” Kady suggests. 

Julia lets go of Quentin’s hand to stand between Kady and Penny. “Well, duh, but what’s something you really want to do?” 

While the six of them talk, Quentin suddenly feels eyes on the back of his neck and turns, squinting his eyes and searching the large crowd. He doesn’t see anyone in particular, but there’s an unpleasant tingling that gives him goosebumps. When a pair of perfectly manicured nails snap in front of his face he blinks and shakes his head back into focus. “What?”

Margo raises an eyebrow at him. “You good?” 

He immediately nods and smiles at her. “Sorry, just zoned out. What’s up?” 

Margo gives him a look that tells him she doesn’t exactly believe him but she lets it pass. “We were saying how we’re gonna split up and meet up later. Alice wants to go to the hall of mirrors and Julia is bribing Penny and Kady to do that ridiculous tunnel of love thing.” 

Something in Quentin screams at him to say no, that they should not split up, but he ignores it. “Right, yeah, sounds good. Me and El can hit the Ferris wheel?” He questions, glancing at his boyfriend who gives him a lazy smile and nods. 

Penny scoffs as he wraps his arms around Kady and Julia’s waist. “You mean make out on the Ferris wheel.” 

Eliot doesn’t deny it but Quentin flips him off. “Fuck off, Adiyodi, I don’t even want to think about what the three of you are going to do in the tunnel.” 

Julia blushes slightly and shoots him a glare but the tugging of her lips gives her away. “Okay, after we’re all finished how about we meet back up by the swings? It’s right in the middle.” 

They all glance around at each other before nodding. “Okay!” Julia gives Quentin a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m gonna kick your ass in a dart toss later.” She gives him a quick smirk before pulling Kady and Penny in the direction of the tunnel of love. 

Quentin watches them until they’re far enough that they blend into the crowd and he frowns slightly, an odd feeling in his gut. 

Margo grabs her girlfriends hand. “Right, well, me and Alice will probably take the least amount of time so we might grab cotton candy or something before we meet back up.” They both smile at Quentin and Eliot before heading the opposite way that Penny, Kady, and Julia went. 

Quentin doesn’t understand why there’s a piece of him yelling _no! Come back! Turn around!_ But he pushes it down when Eliot wraps an arm around his shoulder. “So, Ferris wheel?” 

Quentin only nods. 

_Turn back._

* * *

The sight of Alice rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet while they wait in line for the hall of mirrors might possibly be one of the cutest things Margo has ever seen. It’s slightly cold out and it’s turned Alice’s usually pale skin a light pink. “You wanna tell me why you’re so excited for this?” She questions. 

Alice makes a humming noise and steps closer to her girlfriend. “I’ve known about magic my entire life, growing up with magicians.” The line moves and both girls step forward. “I used to love coming here with Charlie.” When she mentions her brother she gives Margo a small, sad smile, who kisses her cheek. “We loved the hall of mirrors because I could mess with the reflections.” 

When Margo gives her a confused look she giggles slightly. “Okay, so, you know my discipline is phosphoromancny.” She waits for Margo to nod before continuing. “I’ve always been good at it, even when I was younger, so Charlie and I would come in here and I’d mess around with the mirrors using light, it really freaked people out. This one time, when I was fourteen-“ 

As she’s speaking, a man pushes past them, causing them both to stumble slightly. Margo immediately glares. “Hey, watch it asshole!” The man doesn’t even turn around, laughing when he gets to his group of his friends. Margo rolls her eyes and grasps Alice’s elbow to steady her. “Dick.” She shoots one last glare at the back of his head before turning to the blonde, silently asking her to continue. 

For the next five minutes Alice tells Margo about how she used to mess with people in the mirrors and Margo practically chokes on her laughter when Alice brings up a woman who immediately began to pray. “Oh my god!” 

They finally make it to the front and show the worker their wristbands. Margo notices how he leers at both of them and she’s got half of mind to set his crotch his fire but Alice is pulling her inside before she can make up her mind. “I felt horrible! I thought she was going to have a heart attack honestly.” 

Margo just laughs more and shakes her head, almost running into a mirror. “Shit!” 

Alice giggles and laces their fingers together. “Here, follow me.” Before they continue, she pauses in her walking. 

Margo squeezes her hand and gives her a worried look. “What?”

Alice looks at her and furrows her eyebrows. “We were behind at least fifteen people. Where’d they go?”

Margo looks around, multiple replicas of her looking back. “Maybe they’re already out?” As soon as she says it, the door behind them slams shut and they jump. “What the fuck? Hey!” She bangs on the door twice. 

Alice pulls her away from the door. “I think maybe it’s a part of the attraction. It’s almost Halloween, it makes sense they’d do stuff to try and scare us. Let’s just get out.” 

Margo frowns but nods, allowing her girlfriend to lead the way. When they reach the middle of the mirrors, the music inside gets louder and she has to force herself not to cover her ears. “Cringey, much?”

Alice giggles softly and lets go of her hand. “If I’m right, which I usually am, the exit should be up here.” She walks a bit faster, weaving through the mirrors.

“Wait, Alice, hold on,” Margo tries to keep up with her but when Alice turns a corner Margo curses under her breath. Right as she goes to follow her, she trips over someone’s leg and falls down on her hands and knees. She immediately stands up and moves her head in different directions to see who had just tripped her, but all she sees is her own reflection. “Alice?” She calls out to her girlfriend but tries again, louder this time when she doesn’t get a response. “Alice!” 

She hears shuffling coming towards her from the direction Alice had gone and she sighs in relief. “Fuck, you can’t just-“ Her eyes widen as a man in hoodie that hides his face strides towards her. Before she can even lift her hands to cast, he’s hitting her over the head with a crowbar and she falls, unconscious. 

* * *

It takes a little bit of bribing, but the ride operator allows all three of them into one boat, Julia in the middle with Kady on her right side, Penny on her left. Penny sighs slightly and leans back, arms resting on the safety bars. “I hate these things.” 

Kady chuckles and reaches over Julia to rub his leg, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “People do all kinds of shit in these things you know.” 

At that Penny smirks slightly and tucks a piece of Julia’s hair behind her ear. “Juli-“ Her mouth is on his before he can even finish and he chuckles, hands moving up to cup her cheeks. After a few moments, they pull apart and Julia pulls Kady’s face towards her, connecting their lips. 

Things get heated quickly and Penny groans as his hard on presses against the fabric of his jeans. “Fuck.” There’s not much room for three people to move around in a boat meant for two, but Penny somehow manages to pull Julia’s legs over his lap. “Listen, I’m all for a quick-“ He stops short when their boat slams into the one in front of them. “The fuck?” He quickly notices all the other boats are unoccupied as well. “Did it break down?”

Kady sighs in annoyance. “Great,” When she sees someone walking towards them she scowls. “Hey, wanna get us the fuck out of here?” He doesn’t respond and Kady frowns. “Dude, hello?” The lights flicker and something in his pocket catches it. 

A knife. 

“Oh shit.” They’re all immediately trying to push the safety bar up, but it’s not budging. “Fuck, fuck!” 

Julia is tiny enough to shimmy out and the water sloshes around them as she climbs over them and gets out of the boat, trying to pull on the bar. She spins on her heel and thrusts her hands up in a complicated movement, expecting the man to go flying backwards. 

What happens is not what she expects, because what happens is nothing at all. 

“Julia, go!” Penny yells at her while he and Kady keep trying to work on the safety bar. She hates that it’s not just because they’re telling her to go get help, it’s because physically, she’s weakest. Magically, she’s the most powerful of them all, but physically, while she can throw a punch, she and Quentin are the weakest. 

And even though she knows this, there’s not a chance in hell that she’s not leaving. 

The man walks closer to them and Kady looks at Penny. As if reading her mind, which he might actually have, had he thought of it, he nods once and they both tuck their knees and shove hard against the bar with their feet and it finally moves enough for them to scramble out. Once out of the boat, they both stand in front of Julia. “Back the fuck up, man.” Penny’s voice is deep, warning.

When he ignores them and pulls out the knife, Kady moves her hands out in front of her, putting one hand over the other and shoving her palms forward. When nothing happens, she moves backwards in shock. “What..?”

Realization quickly flashes in Julia’s eyes. One spell not working is a coincidence, but two? “I think he’s a magician.” She turns to Penny. “Can you travel us out?” He grabs both their hands but they remain where they are. “Fuck.” He strides towards them faster and they quickly make the decision to run the other way, only stopping when they run into another body. This person is clearly female, but she’s dressed the same as the man. “What do you want?” Julia questions, shaking now and voice trembling. “We’ll give you our wallets or our-“

“Fuck that.” Kady, stubborn as always, steps forward and throws a punch but immediately cries out as the woman grabs her hand before it makes an impact and twists. 

There’s a crack and Kady is on the ground, clutching at her hand. “Kady!” Julia is next to her fast as lightning while looking between the two people and Penny. Before he can do anything, the man finally catches up to them and with a flick of his finger, Penny is being knocked back into a wall, his head bouncing on the floor, unconscious. Julia scrambles backwards, eyes searching for any way out of the situation. “Please, whatever you want, just-“ 

The last thing Julia sees before the world goes black is Kady reaching out to her. 

* * *

Eliot sighs annoyance and glances down at his phone. “What’s taking them so long?” He notices Quentin staring into space and shakes him slightly. “Hey, Q.” 

Quentin whips his head at him. “Sorry, what?”

Eliot gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You ok, babe?”

Quentin gives him a tight lipped smile and nods. “Yeah, fine.” 

Eliot narrows his eyes at his boyfriend and crosses his arms. “Quentin.” 

He’s using the voice that leaves no room for bullshit and Quentin sighs, leaning back against the fence. “I just..” He motions around them to the crowd of people. “Ever since we’ve got here I’ve had this weird feeling.” 

Eliot frowns slightly and takes a step closer to him. “Weird how?” 

He pushes his hair back and shrugs before sighing again. “Like someone’s watching us. Like..we shouldn’t have come here tonight.” He moves his hand up to chew on his nails. “I know it’s stupid, but I just, I think we need to leave when they get back, El. It’s just a feeling, I know, but with us..feelings aren’t just..” 

“Feelings.” He reaches out and tugs Quentins hand away, giving the knuckles a gentle peck. “It’s okay, we’ll explain, and they’ll understand, and we’ll leave.” He reaches down and grabs his other hand. “For now..you wanna explore a little on our own?”

Quentin rolls his eyes. “Jesus, you are such a fuck boy.” But he begins to pull Eliot near an area with no people, behind one of the broken down rides and allows Eliot to shove him backwards into a wall. 

He sighs pleasantly and tugs on Eliot’s curls as the taller man trails open mouth kisses down his throat and bites down lightly on his collarbone, not really care about the hickey that’s surely there now. 

He’s so engrossed with what they’re doing, what Eliot’s doing _to_ him, that he doesn’t notice the figure until it’s too late. 

* * *

When he comes to, the first thing he notices is distinct taste of copper in his mouth. The second thing he notices is the handcuff on his wrist that’s keeping him stuck to a pipe. “Shit. Fucking shit.” He yanks and when it doesn’t budge, he tries a spell but he can feel his magic fizzle out. “Fuck!” 

“Happy to see you awake, Quentin.” 

The voice makes him jump and he pushes himself further against the wall, drawing his legs up to his chest. “Who the fuck are you? What the hell do you want? Where are my friends?”

Whoever it is chuckles and Quentin wants to yell because it’s so fucking familiar, he knows the voice, the laughter. The figure steps forward but his face is covered by a mask. 

He kneels in front of Quentin and reaches out to pet his hair. “How would you like to play a game?” 

When he lifts his mask, Quentin immediately recognizes the face. 

And he screams. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I left it on a cliffhanger! Feel free to guess who their stalkers were and who Quentin saw, and make it your head canon because I’m keeping it a mystery.


End file.
